Pop promises no major changes in Game 2

After beating Memphis in most of the major statistical categories but failing to win the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he won’t change much as he approaches Game 2 Wednesday night against Memphis.

The playing status of Manu Ginobili remains the prime area of concern going into Wednesday’s game. But Popovich liked much of what his team was able to accomplish in its 101-98 loss to the Grizzlies Sunday afternoon.

“We’re going to tweak a little bit here and there, but not very much at all, very honestly,” Popovich said. “I thought we played well. They played well. It was a good aggressive game.”

The Spurs outrebounded Memphis for the first time this season, with a 40-38 edge on the backboards. The Spurs had a 15-5 edge in second-chance points, a 15-5 edge in fast-break points and went to the line 47 times compared to 33 for the Grizzlies. They also had 10 turnovers, compared to 16 for the Grizzlies.

“It was disappointing game for us because it was our best game against them as far as fewest turnovers and fewest points off turnovers, points in the paint, second-chance points, fast-break points,” Popovich said. “We did better than we have all year long (against Memphis), so if you had told me that before the game that we’d do all those things, I would say it was a win. So that’s why it was disappointing because I thought we did the things we wanted to do and still lost.”

The Spurs struggled, shooting only 40 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Memphis shot 55.2 percent, including a combined 76.0 percent from Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. The Spurs struggled defensively against the two Memphis interior players, making Gasol look like his older brother Pau in the process.

“We definitely need to shoot better,” Popovich said. “Gasol and Randolph had great games, played great games. But we need to put the ball in the hole and we weren’t very good at it.

“We did a lot of great things, but in the end it has to go down and we weren’t very good at that area.”